The Catalyst

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Today, FDA released a new report, "Driving Biomedical Innovation: Initiatives for Improving Products for Patients." The report, according to the agency, is an outline of "immediate steps that can be taken to drive biomedical innovation, while improving the health of Americans." Not surprisingly, we believe this to be a tremendously vital and valuable topic of discussion.

Washington, D.C. (October 4, 2011) - In December 2011, Diane Bieri will step down from her role as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Bieri took over as General Counsel in April 2007. Prior to that, she served as Deputy General Counsel from 2006 to 2007. She began her career at PhRMA as the association's Compliance Officer in June 2004.

Lisa Tharp of the Ohio State Grange has written an interesting piece printed in the Columbus (OH) Dispatch: Medicare Part D plan works just fine as it is. A key insight: "...competition has driven down costs dramatically. Work from the Medicare trustees shows that the national average monthly premium for a Part D plan this year is just $30, well under the $53 projected at the program's creation.

Ah, flu season will soon be upon us. I see my supermarket and local pharmacy signing people up for this year's flu shot. Here's a piece from one of my favorite nerd sites talking about this years' vaccine and why it is important to be vaccinated.

I'm always fascinated by the intersection of science and popular culture - in this case, serious research into finding new treatments to fight HIV/AIDS and gaming. I saw this interesting piece yesterday about how "gamers" helped University of Washington scientists "crack" an HIV/AIDS research puzzle. According to the piece:

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Mary Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), about the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Grealy is also the co-chair of Medicare Today, a program intended to help seniors understand and enroll in Medicare Part D.

This week, an op-ed by John C. Lechleiter - the president, chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, one of PhRMA's member companies - highlighted what he calls "two success stories," one being the jobs supported in Indiana by the innovative life sciences sector there and the other being the "efficiency and satisfaction" associated with Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit.

Non-communicable disease (NCDs) "are what the human body will encounter if it lives long enough." Though the interesting and alarming story in this morning's Washington Post about NCDs doesn't say so, that may be some good news.

Biotechnology medicines are developed through biological processes using living cells or organisms, rather than the traditional chemical synthesis approach. The biotechnology medicines in the new report "Biotechnology Medicines in Development," are targeting autoimmune diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, psoriasis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; hemophilia, glaucoma and many genetic disorders.

My PhRMA colleague, Kendra Martello, was up on the Hill today, helping the U.S. Senate HELP Committee better understand what can be done to strengthen the medicine supply chain and make it even more secure (read our testimony and statement). See what she had to say.